Median weekly earnings of full-time workers increased 4.0 percent in 2019

In the fourth quarter of 2019, median weekly earnings of the nation's 118.3 million full-time wage and salary workers were $936, an increase of 4.0 percent from a year earlier ($900). This increase compared with a gain of 2.0 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same period. In the fourth quarter of 2019, women had median weekly earnings of $843, or 82.5 percent of the $1,022 median for men. Over the year, median weekly earnings for men increased 2.9 percent, compared with 6.2 percent for women.

Median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers ages 25 to 34 years increased from $820 in the fourth quarter of 2018 to $876 in the fourth quarter of 2019, or 6.8 percent. Median weekly earnings for men in that age group increased 4.6 percent over that period, from $877 to $917. For women in that age group, median weekly earnings increased from $763 to $815, or an increase of 6.8 percent.

From the fourth quarter of 2018 to the fourth quarter of 2019, median weekly earnings for workers ages 55 to 64 increased 1.5 percent, less than the 2.0-percent increase in the CPI-U over the same period. In this age group, median weekly earnings for women increased 3.0 percent, compared with a 0.3-percent decrease for men.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are not seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: Fourth Quarter 2019." Also see more charts of usual weekly earnings data. Full-time workers usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or main job. The median is the midpoint in the earnings distribution; half of workers earn more than the median and half earn less.